Orally applicable pharmaceutical compositions comprising about 50 to 200 mg of sulfinpyrazone, i.e. the 1,2-diphenyl-4-(2-phenylsulfinylethyl)-pyrazolidone-3,5-dione, as the active ingredient, are used as uricosuric agents (for nearly 20 years) and sold under GEIGY's brand name ANTURANE.RTM..
Moreover, according to Platelets, Drugs and Thrombosis Symp. Hamilton (Canada) 1972, pages 284-291 (Karger, Basel 1975) it is known that the oral administration of about 600 mg of sulfinpyrazone "per day in three divided doses . . . to . . . patients with the diagnosis of myocardial infarction, either along or in combination with a stroke" resulted only in about 10% difference in survival after one year and about 25% between 2.5 and 4 years. "There was no significant difference between the survival curves for the two treatment groups," however.
Compositions of said 1,2-diphenyl-4-(2-phenylthioethyl)-pyrazolidine-3,5-dione, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof are also known according to Schweiz. Med. Wochenschrift 84, 1315 (1954) to exhibit antiphlogistic and analgetic effects, and hence can be used in the treatment of rheumatic arthritis. Oral doses of 1-2 g thereof per day, administered in 0.2 g single dosage units, caused an improvement of the arthritis in about 2/3 of clinical patients.
It is further known from J. Pharmacol. 119, 418 (1957) that said 1,2-diphenyl-4-(2-phenylthioethyl)-pyrazolidone-3,5-dione is metabolized in the human organism to sulfinpyrazone, which is considered as the effective component for all pharmacological effects of the former, which have hitherto been ascertained.
Surprisingly, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, 298, pages 289-295 (February 9, 1978) "a randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial comparing sulfinpyrazone (200 mg four times a day) and placebo in the prevention of cardiac mortaility among patients with a recent documented myocardial infarction" established the following results: "For cardiac deaths . . . an observed reduction of 48.5 percent" and "a 57.2 percent reduction in sudden-cardiac-death rate," with the highly significant P=0.018 or 0.015 values, respectively.
Moreover, it has been surprisingly established that 1,2-diphenyl-4-(2-phenylthioethyl)-pyrazolidine-3,5-dione, and said salts thereof, are excellently suitable for compositions in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, particularly in conditions caused by an abnormal function of the blood platelets, such as in the treatment of thrombotic diseases.